Analysts Set McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Target Price at $79.57

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the nine analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $79.57.

Several research firms have weighed in on MKC. BNP Paribas upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MKC. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 97,525.5% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 976,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,256,000 after buying an additional 975,255 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the first quarter worth $73,160,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,119,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,390,261,000 after acquiring an additional 883,327 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter valued at $51,286,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 111.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 733,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,041,000 after purchasing an additional 386,320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $78.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.32. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a one year low of $62.72 and a one year high of $85.49. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.77.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 61.31%.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Company, Incorporated manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to the food industry. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Flavor Solutions. The Consumer segment offers spices, herbs, and seasonings, as well as condiments and sauces, and desserts.